A/56/PV.38 General Assembly

I thank the Secretary- General for his report contained in document A/56/270, on the final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. I would also like to express our appreciation for the extremely useful report contained in document A/56/435, which was prepared by the secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. This report should, in our view, guide the deliberations that we will undertake at the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. The development of Africa has to be a special and sustained concern of the world community. The General Assembly unanimously adopted the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s at its forty-sixth session. In the Agenda, the international community accepted the principle of shared responsibility and of full partnership with Africa in support of Africa’s own development efforts. The Agenda clearly laid down Africa’s responsibilities and commitments. This included reform and structural adjustment of its economies, the promotion of regional and subregional cooperation and an intensification of democratic processes. The international community, as part of the compact, also undertook certain responsibilities and commitments. These included a reaffirmation of the commitment to attain the target of devoting 0.7 per cent of gross national product to official development assistance, of finding a durable solution to the debt crisis, of supporting the development of infrastructure, of granting improved market access to Africa’s exports and of encouraging foreign direct investment in Africa. It was envisaged that the fulfilment of these commitments, both by Africa and the international community, would lead to the achievement of the target of 6 per cent economic growth per annum. Africa has, we see, largely fulfilled its obligations under the compact. Structural adjustment programmes have been adopted by a number of countries. In fact, such programmes have been applied more intensely and more frequently — and, I would say, with more pain — in Africa than in any other region of the world. There has been a deregulation of agricultural markets. This, however, has not led to any growth in agricultural output; in fact, cereal production has fallen behind population growth. Trade liberalization has been undertaken, resulting, however, in de-industrialization. Capital account liberalization has been accepted, leading only to adverse effects on exchange rates. Structural adjustment programmes have also enforced a dismantling of state-mediated mechanisms for capital formation, as well as an erosion in the role of the State in the development of human and physical infrastructure. The compliance of the international community with the obligations voluntarily undertaken by it, however, shows an opposite picture. Official flows to developing countries have fallen from $55 billion in 1990 to less than $39 billion in 2000. Official development assistance has suffered a continuous and deep decline, from 0.33 per cent of gross national product in 1992 to 0.24 per cent in 1999 for all Development Assistance Committee countries put together. A permanent solution to the debt problem still proves elusive. The record of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt (HIPC) Initiative is woefully inadequate; it suffers from underfunding, excessive conditionality and restrictions on eligibility. The weak and insufficient provisions on special and differential treatment obtained in the Uruguay Round have been eliminated, in many cases, by conditionalities. Peak tariffs and quotas, arbitrary anti-dumping and countervailing duties, unjustified sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions and agricultural subsidies not only generate protectionist distortions for the exports of Africa and the rest of the developing world, but also impact adversely on the domestic markets of those countries. Finally, foreign direct investment remains confined to a few oil- and mineral-rich countries. This asymmetric fulfilment of commitments by Africa and the rest of the international community has led to a situation in which per capita income in sub- Saharan Africa is now 10 per cent below the level reached in 1980. Even the so-called satisfactory adjusters to structural adjustment programmes have not seen conditions which would be conducive to sustained economic growth. Such programmes have, on the other hand, led to greater inequalities in income distribution. The decline in per capita gross domestic product for the poorest 20 per cent of the population has been twice the overall decline. Poverty eradication on a durable basis can be predicated only on economic growth. This, in turn, requires capital accumulation. Low-income countries, which are unable to meet even the basic needs of their peoples, cannot be expected to increase their domestic savings rate. We also know from experience that foreign direct investment does not lead to economic growth in those countries; rather, private capital flows follow economic growth. Debt relief by itself cannot be the solution either. It is estimated that, even if all the countries in sub-Saharan Africa were brought under HIPC and granted full and immediate relief on their official debt, the amount released would be less than half of their external financing requirements. The arithmetic has been presented with clarity in the Secretary-General’s report. It reveals that, for each dollar of net capital inflow to sub-Saharan Africa, 25 cents flow out as interest payment and remittance of profits by multinational corporations, 30 cents leak into capital outflow and 51 cents account for terms of trade loss. In other words, there is a net transfer of resources from sub-Saharan Africa to the rest of the world. There is, therefore, no capital accumulation, no economic growth and no poverty eradication. There is a general need to address the issues which have been outlined in the Secretary-General’s report and on which I have dwelt today. It is our belief that greater domestic policy efforts by Africa cannot make up for shortcomings in the external trading and financial environment. We welcome the establishment of an independent panel by the Secretary-General to oversee the evaluation of the Agenda. We ask that the evaluation also provide concrete proposals for successor arrangements. These, in our view, should be based on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development adopted by the Abuja summit of October 2001. We endorse the suggestion for establishing an ad hoc committee of the whole to carry out the final review and appraisal of the Agenda and look forward to participating actively in its deliberations. There is an obligation on all of us to do so. A few simple figures would justify this point. The gains to the economies of sub-Saharan Africa from the elimination of agricultural protection in countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development would amount to $6 per person. Such elimination seems worthy of consideration to us, given that more than 300 million people in Africa live on less than $1 a day. India’s commitment to the development of Africa has been firm and unwavering. It is based on solidarity, shared aspirations and concerns rooted in history, common colonial experience, the struggle for liberation and the striving for growth and development. We have always considered the destinies of Asia and Africa to be linked. We have sought to share whatever gains India may have achieved in its drive for self-reliance and economic and technological advancement. We have, since 1964, provided over $2 billion in technical assistance to other developing countries. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, with an annual financial outlay of over $85 million, provides training to more than 2,000 personnel from developing countries every year, the majority of them from Africa. We have also implemented infrastructure building projects, particularly in the railway sector, in various countries on the African continent. The area of technical cooperation is extensive, embracing particularly agriculture, services and small-industry development with a view to employment generation. Indian companies have also established a number of joint ventures in Africa. We will strengthen this cooperation. It is proof of our commitment to South- South and Afro-Asian solidarity.

Japan is determined to contribute to the development of Africa. This is not because of special historical ties with the continent. Japan did not enter into full-fledged relations with Africa until countries in the region declared their independence from colonial rule after the Second World War. Japan’s determination is based, rather, on its belief that there will be no stability and prosperity in the world unless the problems of Africa are resolved. From this perspective, Japan places great importance on the development of Africa. To stimulate international efforts to that end, Japan hosted the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in 1993 and 1998. My delegation is confident that this process played a pivotal role in shifting the attention of the international community back to Africa. In the TICAD process, Japan has promoted the principles of ownership and global partnership. As stated in the Tokyo Agenda for Action adopted at TICAD II, economic and social development priorities should be determined by African countries and development should be pursued under a common framework for cooperation among all development actors. It is from this point of view that Japan welcomes the adoption of the New African Initiative, now renamed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). In the document describing the New Partnership, African leaders upheld the principle of ownership. They proclaimed that “We will determine our own destiny and call on the world to complement our efforts”, and stressed their determination to meet preconditions for development, such as peace, security, democracy, good governance and sound economic management. In this regard, NEPAD has key elements in common with TICAD. My Government looks forward to discussing how the international community can be of help in implementing NEPAD at the TICAD ministerial-level meeting that Japan will host next month in preparation for TICAD III. During the last decade, the United Nations made efforts to promote African development through the adoption and implementation of its New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF) as a framework for that purpose. In the TICAD process, for example, UN-NADAF was taken into consideration in connection with the pursuit of further political and economic reform in African countries, as stated in the Tokyo Declaration adopted at TICAD I. Upon the adoption of NEPAD, however, the United Nations should pay more attention to African leaders’ own development agenda, outlined in the document. In this regard, in the forthcoming review and appraisal of the implementation of UN-NADAF, we should examine how the United Nations can best help African countries to translate NEPAD into concrete national policies. My delegation will actively participate in such discussions.

Ten years ago, during the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly, the African continent, through the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, committed itself, together with the international community, in a political and moral contract in which the responsibility of each party was clearly defined in the form of specific commitments. Now that it is time to assess the impact of this contract on the situation in Africa, I would like to share with the Assembly a few thoughts that, in light of the success achieved and the difficulties met, might perhaps help us to see what the way forward should be. Over the last 10 years, Africa has not been able to fulfil all its commitments, but it has engaged in several initiatives. Far-reaching economic reform was undertaken in many countries, aimed, for instance, at more thrifty and transparent public resource management. Broadening the tax base in order to provide enough public sector investment has been one of the priorities, and this is the reason for the many privatizations of public and semi-public companies on the continent, and the termination of trading systems based on exceptions and preferences. Reform has also spread to the private sector with deregulation of the labour market, which many countries have undertaken. This has meant more flexibility and creates a more welcoming climate for foreign investment by rationalizing and reforming laws on investment. These measures aimed at reforming the public sector and at promoting the private sector have enabled the continent over the course of the last 10 years to register constantly rising average growth rates. As far as political and institutional life is concerned, free and democratic elections have taken place in many countries throughout the 1990s. There have been many transfers of power, among which was the memorable election in Senegal on 19 March 2001. Despite the fact that there have been certain problems and setbacks, the democratic renaissance on the continent is here to stay, with freedom of expression, freedom of choice and respect for human rights and liberties firmly part of our mindset. This political and institutional change has accompanied the establishment of independent legal systems, a more independent press, more non- governmental organizations that are increasingly committed. The new dynamic in Africa has helped to reduce political instability, which was so characteristic of the continent at the beginning of 1990s. With regard to the training of human resources, the significant efforts of African countries in the areas of basic education and adult literacy have enabled real, if modest, progress. Furthermore, the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All, held in Dakar in April 2000, prepared the way for reaching the goal of widespread access to education by 2015. These initiatives have, as a whole, had some positive effects. But we must acknowledge that Africa’s grave economic situation, which led to the creation in 1990 of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa, has not improved. The report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published last September, entitled, “Economic Development in Africa: Performance, Prospects and Policy Issues” leaves no room for disagreement on this point. It notes that in 2000, the per capita income in Africa is 10 per cent below the level reached in 1980. The report goes on to say that, even though agricultural output has increased slightly in recent years, 28 million Africans are facing severe food shortages in 2001. If that is the case, it is because the international community’s support for Africa, though effective, is still insufficient in many areas. Despite the effort of African countries to reform their trade policies, it has been difficult for them to gain access to the markets of developed countries because of prohibitive tariffs and other non-tariff barriers. In this regard, we should welcome certain recent initiatives such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act of the United States and the “Everything but arms” initiative of the European Union. As well, the mobilization of financial resources for investment in Africa has been very much below the targets set, bearing in mind the continuing drop in official development assistance and Africa’s meagre share of global foreign direct investment flows. With regard to heavy foreign debt loads and the comprehensive measures taken by the international community, I would like to speak of two initiatives assisting highly indebted poor countries, which shows that there is a will to remove the burden weighing down African economies, though these measures have so far proven to be ineffective. The difficulties we have seen in implementing the goals of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa has led African leaders to undertake a new joint approach: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. We are all aware of the various aspects of this new partnership. I only revisit them to stress that it is based on our leaders’ clear understanding that African development is first and foremost the responsibility of Africans. The Partnership defines the preconditions necessary for development, identify the priorities in each sector and formulate a strategy for mobilizing resources. This new partnership heralds the choice of a new approach to economic development and has been well received by the Economic and Social Council, the G-8 countries, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. With this in mind, I will conclude by expressing the wish that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development should be the foundation for a new act of faith that Africa and the international community must build in order to work together at the start of the new millennium so that African peoples may finally reap the benefits of globalization.

When looking at the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, we should not be totally blinded by the apparent lack of success as demonstrated by the deterioration in the economic and social development of the African continent and its increased marginalization over the last 10 years. There are many statistics that can be recited to prove the declining situation of Africa. However, we believe that a careful evaluation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s will provide us with valuable lessons on the achievements that we need to build upon and the shortcomings that we need not repeat, as well as the dangers and pitfalls that we need to avoid in the future. These could be most useful as we are charting our own course forward in the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. What is already apparent is the contribution that the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa has made towards creating a system-wide awareness of Africa during the 1990s. This was borne out by the regular references to the particular needs of Africa in United Nations summits and conferences, in decisions and resolutions, throughout the United Nations system and in reports by the Secretary- General. These reached their climax in the Millennium Declaration, when all our heads of State and Government recognized the special challenges faced by our African continent. My delegation is looking forward to the report by the Panel of Eminent Personalities and their independent, high-level, quality evaluation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa. We also stand ready to assist them and the consultants supporting their work in any way possible. We fully support the suggestion by the Economic and Social Council in its agreed conclusions of 1999 that the review should focus not solely on the New Agenda but also consider its relationship with other initiatives. While the review would obviously consider the priorities that shape the New Agenda, it should also evaluate the impact of unforeseen challenges that has developed in subsequent years, such as the impact of globalization, the digital divide and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Economic and Social Council also requested recommendations for future action, including the consideration of successor arrangements. At the time that the Economic and Social Council made these requests, there was, of course, no clarity on what such a successor arrangement could be. The situation has now changed dramatically as Africa has presented its own successor to the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), formerly known as the New African Initiative. The discussion on future action and the successor arrangements need not consider what would replace the New Agenda for the Development of Africa but merely how the United Nations should support this New Partnership for Africa’s Development and how it would reprioritize its own programmes and other engagements in the continent in accordance with the priorities, objectives and programmes of this new partnership. In preparing the new partnership, Africa gave serious thought to the fundamental questions underlying the problem of the already huge and growing disparities in development between the North and the South and the persistence of poverty and underdevelopment on our continent. However, one of the most important preconditions for the effective renewal of the continent was achieved only in the middle of the 1990s, when, with the abolition of apartheid, we finally reached the complete liberation of the peoples of the continent. Furthermore, we Africans, including our leaders, arrived at a common perspective that democracy is fundamental to the regeneration of our countries and the continent. The renaissance of the continent is now possible as many of our people in Africa came to the common determination that adherence to good economic governance aimed at the emancipation of our people from poverty is as important as political democracy. We have further resolved to improve the living conditions of our people by finding ways to use our natural resources better, instead of these riches benefiting outsiders and a small elite. The renewal of Africa is furthermore made possible because the masses will be involved. In all their forms and from their different stations in life, all citizens of the African continent will have critical and specific roles to play and contributions to make to ensure the revitalization of our continent. With this, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development is creating true ownership and thereby closing the ownership debate as far as it relates to Africa. The main objective of the New Partnership is the eradication of poverty on the continent, and all our actions, as well as the support we will seek, should contribute towards that goal. The New Partnership further seeks to place African countries on a path of sustainable growth and development and thereby halt the marginalization of the continent in the globalization process. We have realized that there is much that we as African countries could do and should commit ourselves to. In this regard, we are agreed that we must strengthen democracy on the continent, change the human rights culture, end existing conflicts and prevent new ones, deal with corruption and be accountable to one another for all our actions. These are important first and foremost for the well-being of our own people, but will also create positive conditions for investment — both domestic and foreign — economic growth and development. We have hereby effectively reversed the conditionality debate. We also believe that the advent of the African Union will contribute significantly to the continent’s ability to address the political issues just mentioned and to create the peace, stability and security that we all seek. Africa has also determined its own priority sectors to be focused on in order to achieve our own overall goals. These entail bridging gaps in the physical, structural, organizational and information and communication technology infrastructures; the transfer of technology to eliminate the digital divide; the promotion of human development, particularly in the areas of health, education and culture; the development of agriculture; the promotion of diversification in production and exports; and the granting of improved market access. We are, however, realistic enough to recognize that our own efforts, however determined, will not be sufficient and will need to be complemented by actions and support of the international community in true partnership. We are thus confident about the renaissance of the African continent through the implementation of the New Partnership, as this is based on a new partnership with the international community on the basis of what we as Africans have determined to be the correct route to our own development. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development states very clearly in paragraph 6 that mobilizing the necessary resources and achieving the developmental goals contained in this new partnership requires “a new global partnership based on shared responsibility and mutual interest”. It goes further, however, and states that, in this regard, we are not asking for favours, but for fairness and justice, a better life for Africans and a secure future for all humanity. We are thus far encouraged by the support that this initiative has already received from the Group of Eight industrialized countries, the European Union and other developed countries; in the United Nations, the endorsement by Member States in the high-level Ministerial Declaration of the Economic and Social Council and in the open-ended Working Group on the Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa is also greatly appreciated. The statements of support made by the Secretary-General and the decision by the Administrative Committee on Coordination in April to support African-led and African-owned development plans, such as those culminating in the New Partnership, committed the whole United Nations system to this same goal. What has been particularly encouraging to my delegation is the unflinching support that we have received from other delegations of the Group of 77 and China in our efforts to promote this partnership and its priorities, objectives and programmes within this Organization. Their solidarity with Africa is noted and much appreciated. With this kind of support and through true partnerships we are confident that Africa will be able to confront and overcome the challenges that face us. But the partnerships envisaged in this New Partnership do not only involve Governments and other official bodies. It also stresses the need to strengthen public-private partnerships. These can play particularly important roles in generating resources, promoting skills development and technology transfer and implementing infrastructure and social programmes. In reviewing the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s and in considering its successor arrangement, we Africans thus have to consider how the United Nations would engage with Africa according to the priorities, objectives and programmes of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

At the outset, let me express my delegation’s appreciation to the Secretary- General for his note contained in document A/56/270. While the final review of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s will be conducted in the year 2002, my delegation nevertheless wishes to make brief comments on the note before us. As clearly stated in the Secretary-General’s report, the Assembly, in taking stock of the achievements made by African countries, as well as the complementary efforts made by the international community and the United Nations system in particular, should provide guidelines for future actions. In this context, the period between this session and the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly gives us ample time to seriously consider how to complement sustainable development efforts of African countries. Furthermore, my delegation emphasizes the General Assembly’s decision that the final review and appraisal should include a thorough review of existing initiatives on Africa. This is important, for it complements the central objective of the final review. We welcome the establishment of the Panel to oversee the evaluation of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa, and it is also my delegation’s hope that the evaluation results will be submitted to the Assembly as planned. The United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa was based on the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. Both plans were based on Africa’s priority programmes, and the latter was prepared by the Conference of Ministers of the Economic Commission for Africa. Similarly, at its recent summit, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) adopted the New African Initiative, now known as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. Indeed, as stated in the Secretary-General’s report, through this Initiative African countries are again assuming and reasserting ownership of their development while redefining the terms and conditions of partnership with the international community. Let me emphasize that ownership of Africa’s development by African countries themselves should not be used to leave Africa’s development to itself alone. Africa needs assistance and solidarity from the international community. History has shown that no nation or group of nations has emerged from the ashes of destruction and underdevelopment without the assistance of others. Thus, in the process of putting together the evaluation, the panel should, among other things, look at the famous Marshall Plan, which was put in place to rebuild Europe, as well as the remarkable Alliance for Progress, which assisted Latin America to emerge from economic and social strife and empowered it to face the future with confidence. These two examples are not unique and can be applied to hardships and development challenges Africa is confronting today. The panel should therefore include specific and concrete lessons learned from these programmes, which made them successful and which could be applied in the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. In addition, lessons learned from the implementation of the United Nations System-wide Initiative on Africa and all other initiatives should be taken into account. Similarly, the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, in our view, will also make a meaningful contribution to the final review. When the Secretary-General addressed the high- level segment of the Economic and Social Council this year, he stressed “the need to put an end to the multiplicity of initiatives on Africa.” (A/56/270, para. 9) Namibia concurs with this view. It is against this background that the New Initiative undertaken by African countries is comprehensive in nature, comprising all aspects of development. Soon the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s will come to an end. A successor programme will be needed. In this context, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development deserves the full support of the international community. We support the recommendation of the Secretary- General that the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole carry out the final review and appraisal of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa and to submit its report to the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. In this context, we count on the support of all Member States for the draft resolution to be presented by the African Group of States.

The United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF) should be considered one of the most important initiatives of the United Nations. This is so not because it is about and for Africa, a major focus of the work of our Organization, but because, as a framework, UN-NADAF embodied in one initiative the commitments which the international community had made at the major United Nations conferences as well as through other multilateral and bilateral arrangements. The opportunity to begin the review and appraisal of the implementation of UN-NADAF offers all of us a rare chance to evaluate our performance in meeting concrete goals of development, measured against commitments. In addition, this review process represents a concrete manifestation of the coordinated follow-up required to address the outcomes of the major summits and conference, even if limited in this case to Africa. In this connection, we are satisfied with the steps taken so far by the Secretary-General to launch the process. The panel of eminent personalities and the consultants, who have already begun field-level evaluation, being independent of both the General Assembly and the Secretariat, will, hopefully be able to present an undistorted picture of the state of implementation of UN-NADAF for our consideration. It may turn out that our debate today, in preceding the initial contacts planned by the panel of eminent personalities, will contribute an important dimension of the picture that is needed in order to arrive at a balanced perspective and conclusion. My delegation expects the panel, in undertaking its work, to tap information from all sources and to focus strongly on lessons learned to guide its recommendations for the future. It is particularly important that, as Member States, we avoid the futile exercises of the past, where debate was reduced to talking past each other, with claims and counter-claims regarding which side met its responsibilities and commitments. The stakes in Africa are just too high for such an indulgence and sterile debate. In our view, Africa’s analysis of its situation, contained in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), should be the last word on the matter. We should have the courage to stand by our conviction and admit that the failure of structural adjustment programmes and the absence of just and fair global rules may have contributed to the marginalization of Africa, but the failures of political and economic leadership in many African countries have also been to blame for Africa’s condition. In the context of UN-NADAF, we believe it is true that what Africa managed to do, in spite of its failures, was not matched in terms of the commitments made by the international community. Any new partnership between Africa and the international community will have to be built on Africa’s new and determined initiative for its development and a new relationship of partnership between it and the international community. In order to respond to NEPAD in a supportive way, the new partnership would need to address many of the problems which we expect the evaluation of UN- NADAF to highlight. These include the distortive nature of economic reform processes in which macroeconomic policies impact negatively on the social sector and destabilize the social order; policy failures caused by ill- considered liberalization, inter alia, the lack of coherence between financial, monetary and trade policies, as exemplified in the failure to sustain gains from debt relief in the absence of fair market access for agricultural products from Africa; the inadequate support for addressing supply rigidities and diversifying the economic base; the inadequate support for capacity-building; the distortive role of external factors in regional integration processes in Africa; and the nature of the process within the United Nations, which tends to treat conflict and post-conflict issues as separate from economic development. Mr. Baialinov (Kyrgyzstan), Vice-President, took the Chair. There are other factors, but it is not our intention to go into the details of those issues, particularly since we shall have an opportunity to do that during the review in 2002. In our view, NEPAD — with its analytical perspective and discerning conclusions on national responsibilities and ownership, international enabling environments and mechanisms for implementation — serves as a reference framework for any evaluation of past and future initiatives related to Africa. Perhaps one of the questions to be answered in the evaluation goes beyond Africa and the United Nations. This is the issue of the perception of initiatives drawn up in the United Nations. The Secretary-General made reference to this at the 2001 high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council. Unlike NEPAD, UN-NADAF did not create, or gain, a compelling momentum, and may have been seen as a bureaucratic product. It may be argued that the attractiveness of NEPAD lies in its ownership by Africans themselves, while in the case of UN-NADAF, its apparent lack of ownership might have been its biggest failing. Was it owned by the United Nations or by the international community, or were they both owners? There is no evidence that UN-NADAF was considered the new agenda for Africa at the bilateral level, in the Bretton Woods institutions or in the World Trade Organization. It is no wonder that, in that nebulous vacuum, accountability, or joint accountability, was such an elusive concept. It may seem, therefore, that any new successor arrangement should incorporate the international community’s response, in terms of support to NEPAD, and should identify precisely the role and responsibilities of each segment of the international community. In this regard, we note that under NEPAD, task teams and lead agencies are to be tasked with preparing specific, implementable, capacity-building projects and programmes on peace and security, economic and corporate governance, infrastructure, central banking and financial standards and agriculture and market access. That response should be based on clear benchmarks and targets and should be structured within a coherent and precise mechanism that is open to evaluation and accountability, involving, jointly, African countries, donors — both bilateral and multilateral — and the United Nations system. In this regard, the work on indicators already begun in the United Nations is crucial and needs to be accelerated. We also expect that a new framework, incorporating all aspects of United Nations processes relevant to NEPAD, will ensure an integrated United Nations approach to Africa — an objective still mired in institutional turf-minding. I would like to say a few words on the Secretary-General’s proposals for the final review and appraisal of UN-NADAF next year. My delegation supports the proposal for an ad hoc committee of the whole. We believe that such a committee should devote part of its substantive session, in the days immediately preceding the general debate at the fifty-seventh session, to considering how to support NEPAD in the context of the successor programme for UN-NADAF. It is our hope that Member States will be represented at that session at a high level. We are hopeful that the new spirit of leadership and ownership demonstrated by Africa’s leaders and people, and the sense of partnership engendered by NEPAD, will lead to convergence in actions that will enable Africa to achieve its development objectives.

At the outset, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his report on the final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. For the past 10 years, the New Agenda has promoted the transformation, integration, diversification and growth of the African economies in order to reduce their vulnerabilities and increase their dynamism. The international community has made tireless efforts to address the vicious cycle of abject poverty and frustrating regional conflicts. The special needs of Africa have been recognized in major United Nations initiatives and conferences and, in particular, at the Millennium Summit held last year. However, addressing the wide spectrum of socio- economic and political issues affecting Africa, which has been afflicted with conflict, poverty and underdevelopment, has become one of the greatest global challenges. The annual growth of the gross domestic product in Africa has been less than 3 per cent for the past four years. Furthermore, the continent suffers from dwindling external financial resources, debt hangover, the HIV/AIDs pandemic and sporadic armed conflict. As we are all aware, the United Nations is uniquely positioned to coordinate activities for meeting the desperate needs in Africa, and it possesses a comparative advantage in dealing with the global agenda regarding Africa. Throughout the development process in Africa, the important findings that peace, democracy and good governance are a prerequisite for sustainable development there, and that comprehensive strategies need to be developed to address the root causes of conflict, were repeatedly reconfirmed. The most remarkable recent progress in the African development process was the adoption of the New African Initiative, which was designed and developed by African countries themselves. My delegation would like to commend the bold political commitments of the African leaders, who placed great emphasis on peace, security, good governance and sound economic management as preconditions for sustainable development. Next year, we will devote ourselves to the appraisal of UN-NADAF through an ad hoc committee of the whole, if it is established. My delegation would like to highlight several points with regard to this process. First, one of the unprecedented factors affecting the implementation of the New Agenda is the rapid process of globalization. Globalization has presented new challenges with significant socio-economic, political and institutional ramifications, and far- reaching implications for development paths throughout the world. The review and appraisal of UN- NADAF should be made against the backdrop of this changing world. Secondly, the international community, including the United Nations, needs to make a great effort in support of the New African Initiative, which has now been renamed NEPAD. It is encouraging that the G-8, at its summit held last July, agreed to launch a detailed development plan for Africa and to set up a panel with a number of African leaders. I hope the United Nations system will also adopt a coherent approach in support of such initiatives for the years to come. Thirdly, new avenues for mobilizing additional resources and promoting exports of African products need to be explored. Despite a number of initiatives by United Nations funds and programmes, as well as other United Nations agencies, it is discouraging to note the huge gap between the level of financial resources needed for development and the inflows made available to meet those needs. I share the view that a positive external environment regarding resource flows does not automatically translate into self-sustained growth. Efforts should also be made at the domestic level. The Republic of Korea has made great efforts to share its development experiences with other developing countries, in particular with African countries. Last year, we trained a number of African experts in the field of export promotion, in close cooperation with the Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the least developed countries. By the end of this year, the number of invited trainees from the least developed countries, including the majority of African countries, will number over 3,000. In the area of market access, at the beginning of this year we removed tariffs on 80 commodities of major export interest to the least developed countries. Furthermore, the Republic of Korea also contributed $300,000 to the World Trade Organization (WTO) secretariat to support trade-related capacity-building in the least developed countries. We have also contributed to several facilities of the Bretton Woods institutions, including the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative trust fund. Finally, 2002 will be an important year for addressing the issues of development and poverty eradication, as we will have two important international conferences — the Monterrey Conference and the Johannesburg Summit. In this context, it is important to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa, with a view to designing new development strategies for Africa. The Republic of Korea will join in the international efforts for African development.

Allow me at the outset to express our thanks and appreciation to the Secretary-General and to his staff for the preparation and presentation of the report on the final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. This is a comprehensive report that gives a clear and accurate picture of the recent economic performance of the continent and of the factors affecting its potential for growth. It contains analyses and conclusions concerning major issues related to both international and domestic economic policies, which affect and influence the growth process. All of us — particularly those of us who are Africans — are cognizant of the importance of the question under consideration — the final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda. We are also aware of the fact that consideration of this matter, by highlighting the various social and economic consequences in African countries and the extent to which it has kept promises of prosperity for the peoples of Africa, will enable us to determine to what degree it has succeeded or failed in alleviating poverty in the continent. As is well known, the United Nations New Agenda was launched with the goal of integrating Africa into the world economy, alleviating poverty and putting Africa on the path to sustainable growth with the support of the international community. Nevertheless, it is regrettable that, despite the unprecedented global wealth and the mind-boggling progress made in the field of science and technology, the results, for Africa, have been disappointing. At a time when the industrialized world has witnessed truly unprecedented economic growth and the creation of tremendous national wealth, the suffering of the African countries from poverty and underdevelopment continues to increase. Poverty is one of the greatest challenges facing Africa. Poverty in African manifests itself in various forms and pertains to a great number of questions related to the multiple aspects of socio- economic development. The African countries have shouldered, to the extent possible, their responsibilities for the development of the continent. This is evident in the Programme of Action for African Recovery and the Omega plan, which were incorporated into the New African Initiative at the recently held Lusaka summit. We welcome the modest increase in the resources devoted to Africa in the regular budget of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The analysis contained in the document reflects current realities in the African continent, showing that the development achieved during the past decade was neither significant nor meaningful. The decline in international flows of resources, particularly financial assistance for development, was one of the most important factors and causes of the deepening of Africa’s suffering. Official development assistance greatly declined in the 1990s, from $26.7 million in 1991 to $20.7 million in 1995, and decreased further to $17.1 million in 1998. The decrease in international resource flows, particularly official development assistance, and the deteriorating terms of trade have hindered Africa’s effective participation in international trade and have cut its share of the global market to less than 2 per cent. This has resulted in the marginalization of Africa in the area of international trade and investment as well as the deterioration of the market for the commodities and raw materials exported by the countries of the region. In addition, its weak infrastructure and deteriorating social services, as well as the spread of HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis epidemics in some parts of Africa, and the crushing burden of foreign debt, unemployment, natural disasters, wars and armed conflict all have contributed to increased poverty in Africa and to the continent’s marginalization and inability to achieve the goals of the New African Initiative. The analyses and conclusions contained in the report of the Secretary-General and other documents produced by UNCTAD make it abundantly clear that it will be nearly impossible to change the deteriorating economic situation in Africa without a drastic change in both domestic and international policies. Here my delegation would like to stress the need for the international community to shoulder its responsibilities. The international community is responsible for ensuring coherence and harmony between domestic and international policies. International measures have a considerable influence on the external conditions Africa is facing as well as on domestic conditions that are affected by foreign policies, and on the adaptation processes that are enhanced by the Bretton Woods institutions. Therefore the creation of an enabling international environment that would make it possible to establish effective international cooperation will have a great impact on Africa. Addressing the question of poverty and its eradication is the collective responsibility of all States and therefore it is incumbent upon all of us to establish the necessary international cooperation in this regard. The report of the Secretary-General reviews the development of Africa in the 1990s and analyses both the external and internal obstacles to growth in Africa. The report before us gives a clear picture, albeit a bleak one, of the sub-Saharan African economy. We thank the Secretary-General for his praiseworthy efforts and for those of the Secretariat in this respect. While reaffirming the importance of the efforts made by the United Nations to support development and to eradicate poverty, my delegation continues to look to the international community, in both its formal and informal sectors, to give priority to the development programmes of developing countries, especially the African countries. We look forward to the international community adopting swift and decisive measures that would help the African continent to overcome the economic and social obstacles along its way to development. We are convinced that the efforts of the United Nations and the international community cannot be successful without political will and the necessary resources to finance sustainable development in the African continent. There are several measures proposed by my delegation to help Africa overcome the obstacles to its sustainable development. These include, first, integrating Africa into the world economy and enabling it to benefit from the globalization process, while taking into account the specific situation and potential of countries that might not be in full harmony with the new world order. This new world order must promote trade and development for all. Secondly, measures should ensure an equitable and effective partnership between the developed countries and the African countries in the adoption of financial and economic decisions through relevant international institutions. Thirdly, developed countries should be urged to facilitate the transfer of technology to Africa, integrating it into the world information network in a manner that would ensure the development and capacity-building of both private and public institutions in this field. Fourthly, developed countries should effectively, swiftly and seriously alleviate Africa’s crushing debt burden and help it terminate the problem once and for all. However this should not take place at the expense of other official development assistance. Finally, these measures should lead to the adoption of contingency plans to deal with possible external shocks. External factors may cause drastic changes in the economic situation of these countries. Africa recognizes its deteriorating economic situation and how difficult it is to eradicate poverty and the suffering of its people. It is aware of the widening gap between itself and the rich countries. The countries of the continent are gravely concerned at the lack of enthusiasm shown by their development partners. We believe that it is time to take immediate action to support developing countries through debt relief and continued financial resource flows to them. Therefore, my delegation supports the Secretary- General’s recommendations in his report that poverty alleviation programmes must be accompanied not only by increased resources but also by structural adjustment and macroeconomic policies to move the growth process forward and to improve the distribution of income. My delegation also reaffirms the need for the United Nations system and the international community to support the New African Initiative and to take all necessary measures to ensure a coordinated and effective response by the United Nations to this initiative. My delegation expresses its gratitude to the Secretary-General for his statement at the opening of the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council on 16 July 2001, where he affirmed the full support of the United Nations for the New African Initiative. It was also stressed in a statement made on behalf of the African Group in the high-level segment of the same body on 17 July 2001 that a review of the implementation of UN-NADAF would afford an opportunity to evaluate the performance of the African countries and the international support given to them during the last decade. It would be an occasion to determine the future course of work for the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, including the reduction of poverty by 50 per cent by the year 2015 in Africa. We deem it necessary that UN-NADAF be reviewed and appraised in accordance with the machinery suggested to the General Assembly in the note by the Secretary-General in document A/56/270 with regard to establishing an ad hoc committee of the whole at the fifty-sixth session that would be mandated to carry out a final review and appraisal of UN- NADAF and submit its report to the Assembly at its fifty-seventh session, taking into account the report on the evaluation of the implementation of UN-NADAF by the African Union and other relevant reports. We are optimistic about the spirit of cooperation and action that permeates the United Nations and the African Union, and we are fully confident that this will have positive ramifications for the New African Initiative. We expect further serious steps and efforts in this regard against such a promising backdrop.

My delegation would like to thank the Secretary- General for submitting a wide range of reports which, both in the plenary of the General Assembly and other bodies and committees of our Organization, have allowed us to gain a better understanding of the complex reality of the African continent. My country — and, we are convinced, the international community as a whole — is deeply concerned by the fact that the majority of the countries of the African continent are beginning the twenty-first century as the poorest, least developed and least technologically advanced countries in the world. Despite the fact that African countries have 18.5 per cent of the world’s population, the region produces only 3.5 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and represents only 1.5 per cent of global exports. Africa receives only two per cent of the global foreign direct investment and, in relation to its GDP, is the most highly indebted region in the world. These figures partly explain why the per capita income in Africa has dropped from $749 per year in 1980 to $688 in 1998. In addition, conflicts, natural disasters and epidemics such as HIV/AIDS have had a grave effect on the African population and have hampered the continent’s ability to attain the objectives of the Millennium Declaration. To reduce poverty by half by the year 2015 in Africa, the continent’s economy would have to grow by 5 per cent a year. That will be difficult to achieve, considering that — quite apart from the present unusual world economic situation — the average growth rate in Africa in the 1990s was only 2.1 per cent per year. The region also faces problems including a weak private sector, low rates of savings, shortcomings in the management of public affairs, fragile financial systems, low public investment in infrastructure and weak links between agriculture and industry. The final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s provides a valuable opportunity to take stock of the outcome of action taken by African countries themselves and by the international community to promote the development of Africa. My country welcomes the leadership role played by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its decision to move towards new integration mechanisms. The decision to establish the African Union and the adoption of the New African Initiative are major steps that deserve the support of the international community and of the United Nations system. The adoption of measures to prevent conflict and to foster peace-building in Africa would constitute strong support for such steps. Mexico hopes that the establishment of a single comprehensive framework for the economic and social development of Africa will enable the United Nations system and the international community to become part of this new global initiative to tackle the many challenges facing the region, without duplication of efforts in a myriad of fragmented proposals and giving the needed strategic direction to policies adopted by African countries themselves in conformity with the objectives of the Millennium Declaration. My delegation is grateful to the Secretary- General for his initiative to establish a panel composed of 12 independent personalities from Africa and the international community to oversee the evaluation of the New Agenda. That evaluation will determine what paths we must follow in the future in order to set Africa on the road to sustainable growth. Mexico has supported the historic legitimate endeavours of the peoples of Africa to realize their political, economic and social demands. The Administration of President Vicente Fox proposes to provide new impetus for bilateral cooperation and to strengthen multilateral efforts. To that end, President Fox has pledged to participate in the 2002 summit meeting of the Organization of African Unity, which will make him the first Mexican President to take part in an African summit meeting. My delegation is confident that President Fox will be able there to examine with his African counterparts how Mexico can participate in African initiatives in the sphere of sustainable development. But before the OAU summit, Mexico looks forward to welcoming heads of State or Government from Africa who will be participating in the International Conference on Financing for Development. My country is convinced that at Monterrey the international community will respond constructively to efforts by African countries to achieve sustainable development in a climate of peace, equity and social justice.

In 2002 the General Assembly will conduct the final review of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF). Naturally, Botswana attaches great importance to the New Agenda review process, because the Agenda framework represents a unique compact between Africa and the international community, a compact founded on a commitment to the development of Africa and its peoples backed by concrete action to realize the accelerated and sustained economic and social development of the continent. The Assembly’s solidarity with Africa has been demonstrated also by the articulation of the special development challenges of the region by all major United Nations conferences, including, very significantly, the Millennium Summit. It is clear that, despite all good intentions, the New Agenda is falling far short of expectations. That comes as no surprise in view of the fact that the underlying factors influencing development, particularly mobilization of resources, have not been adequately addressed. I wish to highlight a few of those fundamental issues, which we deem critical to the development of Africa, as elaborated in Africa’s own blueprint for development: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, which was launched at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Lusaka in July 2001. First of all, the international community must support efforts towards peace and security in Africa. The United Nations has the mandate, the means and the expertise to assist in the resolution of armed conflict and thus to remove one of the major obstacles to development. That factor was clearly set out in the Secretary-General’s landmark 1998 report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/52/871). Secondly, African countries must be assisted in their efforts to ensure investment in human resource development, capacity-building and the acquisition and application of technologies for development. In this era of phenomenal technological advancement, presenting real possibilities for countries to stimulate domestic growth and infrastructure development and to unleash the potential of both the private and the public sectors, it is crucial that all development partners step up efforts in a coherent manner to support Africa’s access to technology and also to bridge the digital divide. A third core issue, in our view, is the need to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. We cannot begin to have any meaningful discussion on the development of Africa unless we vigorously tackle HIV/AIDS in all its aspects. Last June’s special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS underscored the urgency of that issue; there the Assembly agreed on concrete action to be taken at both the domestic and the international levels. The international community and the United Nations system should accelerate implementation of the outcome of the special session on HIV/AIDS in a sustained and properly targeted manner. Other areas that have seriously hampered the full implementation of UN-NADAF are related to a paucity of financial resources and foreign direct investment to Africa. This devastating trend occurred, and still persists, in spite of significant progress by African Governments in the creation of sound economic, political, legal and governance frameworks necessary for attracting official development assistance and investments. The final review of UN-NADAF presents a unique opportunity for the system and the international community to unite in support of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). In NEPAD, our leaders laid out the context of the new vision for Africa by making a clear and realistic assessment of the real situation in the continent — which, sadly, is characterized by pervasive poverty and underdevelopment. This realistic and objective assessment augurs well for determined action in the right direction. African leaders have laid down their own strategy for economic revitalization of the continent, and we hope that this initiative will be supported by the international community through effective and sustained implementation. The lessons learned from the evaluation and review of UN-NADAF will serve as valuable tools to guide a more effective implementation of NEPAD once its implementation committee has concluded its work on the various programmatic aspects of NEPAD. My delegation awaits with great keenness a report of the Secretary-General on how the United Nations intends to assist in the implementation of NEPAD. We also look forward to the convening of a high-level substantive session in September 2002, where the General Assembly will consider how it should unite in support of an African-owned and African-led framework of action based on rationalization and a concordance of its initiatives. Botswana has always emphasized that real and lasting development must be based on principles of ownership. The priorities and destiny of the African people can be truly determined by Africans themselves. The adoption of NEPAD is testimony to this fact. We hope that the international community and the United Nations system will continue their support for Africa’s agenda in a sustained, coherent and coordinated manner.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union — Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia — and the other associated countries, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, endorse this statement. The ministerial follow-up meeting to the Cairo Summit, which took place just a few weeks ago in Brussels, once again confirmed the will of the heads of State of the European Union countries and African countries to work towards a new strategic dimension for the global partnership between Africa and Europe. Africa is indeed a priority for the Union, which is its prime source of funds and leading trading partner. The ministerial meeting for a mid-term follow-up allowed us, among other things, to welcome the significant degree of convergence accomplished in the priority areas identified within the framework of the follow-up to the Cairo Summit: conflict resolution, human rights, democracy and good governance, food security, AIDS, regional integration, the environment, debt and the return of cultural property. The results of that work will also clearly be relevant to our deliberations here under this agenda item. The note by the Secretary-General invites us, above all, to put in place a mechanism for the final review and appraisal of the New Agenda in 2002, as well as its juridical base. In this context, we welcome the establishment by the Secretary-General of a panel of eminent personalities, and we are convinced that their evaluation will follow the criteria defined by the General Assembly. Regarding the review of the New Agenda by the General Assembly in 2002, the Union would like to stress the importance of involving all stakeholders concerned, including governmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector. In his statement at the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council last July, the Secretary- General clearly underlined the fact that the United Nations system had been participating in so many different development initiatives on Africa that he could not remember the meaning of all the acronyms. He added that, unfortunately, only a few of those initiatives had been useful. The final review and appraisal of the New Agenda will give us an opportunity to consider the possibility of rationalizing the many United Nations initiatives in order to reduce duplication and overlap, while maintaining the overall scope of agreed priorities and targets. In that effort to rationalize the number of United Nations initiatives, the European Union will be guided by some basic principles that it has already put forward on other occasions. I will mention here the four most important. First and foremost is the importance of African countries taking charge of their own development. The second principle is the importance of an integrated approach by, first, the United Nations system, and, secondly, by other partners from the international community and by African countries themselves. The link established by the Secretary- General between peace, democracy, human rights and sustainable development in his report (A/52/871) on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa has become a reference document for the European Union. The third principle is the importance of a subtle approach, taking into account both the priority problems shared by all African countries and the various situations and needs unique to each country in the African region. Finally, the fourth principle is the importance of a united approach based on partnership in the most inclusive sense of the term. That spirit of partnership already underlies the new Cotonou Agreement, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the action programme of the Africa-Europe summit in Cairo and its follow-up mechanism, as well as being the backbone of the action programme for the least developed countries that we adopted in Brussels. It is a good omen that this exercise is taking place in the light of a new plan for the reconstruction of Africa, coming from Africa itself. The New African Initiative, adopted by African heads of State at their recent summit in Lusaka, clearly demonstrates that the African countries are ready to take responsibility for their own development. In that context, we also welcome the summit held in Abuja on 23 October, which made possible consolidation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the taking of a number of initial operational decisions. Not only does this represent an effort by Africa to solve its own problems, but it is also an initiative with clear objectives and that recognizes democracy, transparency, good governance, the rule of law and human rights as the fundamental elements of development. It is now up to all development partners to assist Africa in that effort. In this context, the European Union welcomed the proposal to convene, on the eve of the ministerial debate of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly, a debate on this new partnership. At their meeting of 10 October, the European Union and the heads of State of South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria and Egypt expressed their firm resolve to establish links between the institutional frameworks of the New African Initiative and the European Union and to develop a regular dialogue on the development of the Initiative. For all these reasons, I can assure the General Assembly that the European Union will be a committed and constructive partner that will, above all, listen carefully to the arguments of the delegations most concerned — the African delegations. The economic reconstruction and development of Africa are and will remain a major issue for the European Union.

The United States delegation thanks the Secretary-General for his note on the final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. We believe that the initiatives recently taken by the African leaders to assume and assert ownership and to redefine the terms and conditions of their development will be invaluable in directing the review of past efforts. Lessons are to be learned from the past, but the emphasis must be on the future. African leaders understand that they carry the burden of alleviating poverty, diminishing the ravages of conflict and disease and stimulating economic growth in their countries. The United States is committed to providing support. The Human Development Report 2001 of the United Nations Development Programme shows that much progress has been made over the past 30 years, due largely to technological breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture and employment — innovations made possible by supportive institutional and policy environments in a number of developing countries that empower human capital. More people than ever are enjoying the benefits of clean water, better health and access to education. However, the report also shows that disease, especially HIV/AIDS, and pervasive conflict are reversing some of these gains. Nearly 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water; 11 million children below the age of five still die every year from preventable causes; 325 million children who should be in primary or secondary schools are not; and 1.2 billion people still live on less than $1 a day. Too many of these are in Africa. The United States Government’s commitment to supporting sustainable economic growth and development in Africa, accompanied by steady poverty reduction, was strongly endorsed by President Bush in his speech to the African Growth and Opportunity Forum recently held in Washington, D.C. The President expressed his deep appreciation for the outpouring of support from African leaders and ordinary citizens alike following the events of 11 September. He reminded all foreign participants, including 35 African ministers and ambassadors, and the United States Secretaries of State, the Treasury and Commerce that, in an era of global trade and global terror, the futures of the developed world and the developing world are closely linked. The President drew a sharp contrast between leaders who fear human creativity, diversity and progress, and who will therefore see the world pass them by, and those who respect the creativity and enterprise of their people, thereby enhancing their access to social and economic progress. He welcomed and supported the New African Initiative, which so clearly embodies the resolve of visionary African leaders to provide the open and free societies that will allow their people to find new ways to create better and richer lives for themselves and their children. The President emphasized that the vision of progress is not owned by any nation or culture. Cultures must preserve their unique values and good governance will look different from place to place. Still, there is a model of successful development. Everywhere, he pointed out — in the East and West, North and South — successful development occurs when a market economy trades with that part of the world that respects human rights and the rule of law. All the cases of successful development and sustained economic growth over the past 40 years arose in countries that relied on a market economy and opened their borders to greater trade and investment. In the 1990s, developing countries that lowered trade barriers and expanded trade saw per capita income rise 5.1 per cent, compared to 1.9 per cent per-capita income growth in high-income countries. In contrast, developing countries that did not make the same trade- liberalizing efforts suffered a decline in per-capita income growth. No nation has entered the fast track of development without opening its economy to world markets. Yet, while macroeconomic stability and an open economy have proven essential for sustainable development growth, they are not sufficient in themselves. The key to sustainable development lies with the policies and institutions of each country’s Government, not in bilateral assistance programmes, World Bank programmes or United Nations programmes. All that external actors, donors, development partners and multilateral organizations can do is provide support. The visionary leaders of Africa understand this and have set an agenda that will shape Africa’s destiny through their own leadership, their own development initiatives and, most important, their solemn commitment to their people for a better life. We welcome their initiative and will continue our support through our multilateral and bilateral contributions; through the United States Agency for International Development’s Global Development Alliance initiative; through our strong support for responsible debt relief; through initiatives to improve basic education and health services; and through initiatives, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which increased total trade with sub-Saharan Africa by 17 per cent during the first half of this year, as compared to the same period the previous year.

Today’s debate is particularly interesting and vibrant, as it shows how much progress can be achieved in the span of one year. In the debate on this agenda item at the fifty-fifth session, many of us contributed ideas on the various ways and means to make development work for Africa, particularly in the context of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF). Many of us spoke about helping Africa enhance its efforts for regional integration. Today, the problems in Africa remain. The need for capacity- building remains. Indeed, the need to further mobilize the international community and its resources in support of African development remains. But in my delegation’s view, the mood in Africa is different, for that great continent has seized its destiny in its own hands and has charted a course that will hopefully lead to an African renaissance. The road map to accomplish this is the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) — and one important modality is the emerging African Union. In this regard, we wish the African Union the best at its first meeting, to take place next summer. Our task in this debate is therefore to enhance United Nations development efforts in Africa in order to complement Africa’s initiatives. In other words, we must explore how multilateral efforts can contribute and complement the region’s efforts. The context could not be better. The actual review of UN-NADAF will take place next year — a year that has the potential of being the United Nations year of development. In 2002, most, if not all, aspects of development will be addressed. In March, the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey will hopefully result in a new consensus model of development that takes into account all sides of the developing equation, including the needs and priorities of developing countries. In September, in Johannesburg, we will engage in our 10-year review of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. It is fitting that our development year will be capped in Africa. While we applaud Africa for the NEPAD initiative and the transition from the Organization of African Unity to the important African Union, we also recognize that many daunting challenges lie ahead. In my own region, that of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the road towards regional economic integration has been filled with many difficulties, and progress was at times slow. Yet the recognition of common interests, and the realization that we were better off working together rather than against each other, spurred ASEAN’s regional economic integration. I believe that ASEAN’s relative success could serve as a model to help Africa overcome the challenges facing effective regional cooperation and integration. These include, among others, the need for policy convergence and harmonization; inadequate financing, including domestic investment and foreign direct investment; institutional capacity; and inadequate resources for development, including poverty eradication and combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When we take stock of UN-NADAF next year, we can lay claim to one important success. As intended, we have helped to forge a greater, dynamic partnership between Africa and the international community — as manifested by NEPAD — grounded in African ownership and playing its part in ending poverty and bringing about sustainable development. Indeed, the NEPAD initiative and the establishment of the African Union demonstrate Africa’s intensification of its efforts to achieve better economic and political leadership. In that regard, the international community, particularly our developed partners, should extend all possible assistance to African countries to strengthen key institutions, such as the civil service, the judiciary, the business sector and, of course, civil society. South-South cooperation can also play a pivotal role and should therefore be vigorously promoted and pursued. In this area, the Philippines can share its experiences, including its positive and progressive record of Government partnership with all stakeholders, including the business sector and civil society. At the same time, we need to focus on the fundamentals. African countries, particularly the most economically vulnerable, must be fully integrated into the global economy, not only in terms of meaningful participation in global economic decision-making and market access, but also in terms of building up their capacity to enjoy the benefits of globalization. It is imperative that the flow of aid to the continent be stable and predictable. We therefore once again urge all developed partners to meet the aid target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product, and we commend those that have done so. The international community must also remain serious about debt relief. While we welcome the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, we must also focus on meaningful debt relief for all developing countries, especially those that have made progress in putting their own house in order but still face heavy debt burdens. In concluding, I wish to make just one point with regard to the modalities for undertaking the final review and appraisal of UN-NADAF. We must conduct the review in a holistic, integrated and forward-looking manner, taking into account not only the various dimensions of development and the views of all stakeholders as appropriate but also the context in which the review will be taking place, namely, from the perspective of the UN-NADAF mid-term review, the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, the Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

We wanted to contribute to the collective reflection on development in Africa by taking part in this discussion on the final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF). Like other speakers, I would like to stress the importance of this review for the African continent. UN-NADAF was designed in the 1990s as a framework for international cooperation to promote development in the African continent. In the hope of providing an effective remedy to the challenges of the last century, African countries have made a real and effective commitment within the framework of this programme for the economic and social development of their continent. Despite their precarious social and economic situation, Africans have made great efforts and undertaken wide-ranging programmes of economic, political and institutional reform in order to create an internal environment conducive to economic recovery and the development of partnerships with both developed countries and southern partners. Despite the reforms and efforts made at the national level, and despite the support of the international community in implementing UN-NADAF, the initiative, unfortunately, has not achieved the results everyone expected. Africa still suffers from many ills and can be considered a disaster-stricken continent. The continent includes three quarters of the least developed countries and two thirds of landlocked countries, almost all of which are constantly affected by recurring drought and accelerated desertification. The last report of the Secretary-General on poverty states that although progress has been achieved in reaching the objective of the Millennium Declaration to reduce poverty by half by 2015, in sub-Saharan Africa, by contrast, due to weak economic growth, the number of poor is steadily rising. Africa is now the region with the largest share of people living on less than $1 per day. Poverty, hunger and malnutrition affect many sectors of African society. But these are not the only handicaps from which the African continent suffers. Africa’s foreign debt is estimated at more than $350 billion, posing a major handicap to social and economic development. Africa benefits only marginally from the rapid expansion of international trade. Despite the great concessions that Africa made in the World Trade Organization’s 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, three years after the adoption of UN- NADAF Africa’s share of international trade remains insignificant and does not reflect the commitments of developed countries to open up their markets to African exports. The closure of markets of developed countries continues to affect the African countries’ most competitive products. The shrinking of official development assistance, as has been stated, continues to affect the economies of many African countries and for many African countries, particularly the least developed countries, official development assistance is an important source of financing for economic and social development projects. Despite the expansion of investment flows, Africa benefits only slightly from foreign investment, representing barely two per cent of international investment flows, which is far from meeting its needs in terms of financing for development. Furthermore, Africa’s share in investment flows has been dropping steadily since the 1990s, while encouraging investment is one of the pillars of the United Nations New Agenda for Development in Africa (UN-NADAF). The continent continues to experience instability and the consequences of war. Unfortunately, that situation has not allowed Africa to focus on its social and economic development and has seriously affected the development policies of many African countries. In this regard, we welcome the action of the United Nations in this area and the efforts deployed to assist Africa in peacekeeping, even if this action is still insufficient in many countries where State structures have virtually collapsed. The conditions that prevailed before the adoption of the UN-NADAF in the 1990s have, unfortunately, not changed. Because of the interweaving of internal and external factors, the initiative that we are speaking about was not able to meet the specific needs of Africa in terms of development. Of course, this is a shared responsibility. Africa’s recovery requires an innovative approach and policies that must be based on a comprehensive and integrated vision and on more appropriate solutions. While it is true that Africa must count on itself to mobilize the necessary resources for its own development, the contribution of the international community remains essential. Such a contribution presumes international solidarity, which would allow the establishment of national strategies adapted to the situation of every country. It would also mean opening up the markets of rich countries to exports from African countries. It also presumes improving access to the markets of these rich countries for exports from African countries, and this remains a vital factor that would make it possible for Africans to find the necessary resources to finance their development activities. Lastly, we should also add that special attention should be paid to the problems of the most heavily indebted countries and to the real need to rethink debt in terms of cancellation or rescheduling. The strengthening of international economic cooperation and coherence in economic, trade and financial policies can contribute to the efforts of African countries to improve their economic situation. Even though the final review and appraisal gives us an opportunity today to decide on measures to be taken in this direction, the delegation of Morocco harbours the hope that the International Conference on Financing for Development, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, to be held soon, will provide concrete solutions to the difficulties and obstacles that prevent African countries from achieving the objectives stipulated in the Millennium Declaration. Therefore, this is an acknowledgement of failure, for the most part, that we must unfortunately admit, and it is based on the premise that development is a national responsibility that Africa has decided to assume itself. It was along these lines that the New African Initiative was adopted. This Initiative, welcomed by the Economic and Social Council and supported by the international community, lays the groundwork for development in Africa and outlines the ways to achieve it. Of course, in order to succeed, the New African Initiative requires once again the firm support of the main players in the global economy. As the Secretary-General’s report points out, the review of the implementation of the New Agenda offers the international community the opportunity to once again assess the action of African countries and allows us to see the support that these countries have received thus far. This opportunity that we have today is also a way of determining how the United Nations and all the participants can intervene effectively to promote development. The Kingdom of Morocco supports, in this context, the Secretary-General’s statement and his recommendation to set up an ad hoc committee to study this appraisal. We believe that the review to be undertaken should try to see what progress has been achieved and should identify the obstacles and difficulties encountered by the African countries and, finally, should help us think about the paths to be followed in the future to provide valuable assistance to Africa, which needs help in its efforts to meet the aspirations of all of its peoples.

Allow me at the outset to express my gratitude to the Secretary-General for his report on the final review of the New Agenda for Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF). The final review and appraisal of this New Agenda give us the opportunity to assess the efforts deployed both by the African countries and the international community to eradicate poverty and promote development and economic growth in Africa. This is also an opportunity to draw up a tally of our achievements, the difficulties encountered and the lessons learned in the joint initiative undertaken throughout the past decade. The mid-term assessment of 1996 showed that the same critical situation that prevailed at the beginning of the 1990s continued to affect the continent as a whole, in spite of a degree of progress noted in some countries. Today, also because of the mix of internal and external factors, Africa is still faced with the same challenges of poverty, malnutrition, underdevelopment and pandemics. Notwithstanding numerous difficulties, the majority of African countries are committed to political reform to establish democracy and promote good governance and to economic restructuring aimed at liberalizing the economy, but the social costs of this have been very high. The efforts and the sacrifices agreed to by African countries to honour their commitments taken at the various international conferences have not always received the desired support and assistance expected from the international community. The acceleration of globalization, the heavy burden of external debt, the continuing decline in official development assistance, the weakness of financial cash flow, the lack of direct foreign investments, the falling prices of export goods and limited access to world markets have all considerably reduced the capacities of African countries. It is therefore with real interest that Africa awaits the final review in 2002, with the justified hope and aspiration that their concerns will be addressed more effectively. Given what I have just said, Algeria considers that the final review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa (UN-NADAF) should include joint consideration on measures and initiatives that are adapted to the new climate of globalization and capable of responding effectively to Africans’ concerns. The mobilization of adequate financial resources, both at national and international levels, is, in this respect, a determining factor for the financing and completion of all development strategies, which explains all the hopes that African countries have placed in the International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in March 2002 in Mexico. In the Ministerial Declaration adopted during its substantive session last July in Geneva, the Economic and Social Council considered that the General Assembly should study how to improve the effectiveness of United Nations support for African priorities and initiatives. The same concern to strengthen the United Nations system in its support to Africa is rightly emphasized in the Secretary-General’s report. My delegation fully supports this approach. Moreover, Algeria welcomes the appointment by the Secretary-General of this 12-member independent Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development, which represents the international community and is charged with making a worthy, independent and high-level evaluation of the implementation of the UN-NADAF, including its relationship with other initiatives. We are convinced that this independent working group, through the choice and the representativeness of the personalities that make it up, will perform its mission successfully. In the view of the Algerian delegation, the independent evaluation and the final review should be a part of continued support by the international community for development in Africa and the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), adopted at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Lusaka in July 2001, is a major initiative that should be integrated in the future in all new arrangements in the United Nations aimed at meeting the challenge of eliminating poverty and bringing about growth and sustainable development in Africa. This African initiative, as stressed in the Secretary- General’s report, is owing to the will and determination of African countries to take their development in their own hands and their efforts at redefining the conditions for partnership with the international community. Even if it is convinced that it must first and foremost count on its own efforts, the African continent also knows that it needs assistance and support. In this respect, my delegation was pleased at the favourable welcome given to this initiative by the international community, particularly by the member countries of the G-8 and by the European Union more recently. We fully support the recommendation by the Secretary-General at the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly to establish an ad hoc committee of the whole responsible for proceeding to the final review and appraisal of the New Agenda for Africa, in 2002. Pending that review, Algeria believes that consideration of the successor arrangement to the New Agenda should include certain principles such as effective commitment by the international community to solidarity and true partnership with Africa, respect for national and regional development priorities, African ownership of the cooperation programmes and significant support for African national and regional capabilities in the field of coordinating programmes for cooperation and development assistance. In conclusion, Algeria reiterates its appeal to the international community to seize this opportunity of the final review and appraisal of the New Agenda in 2002 to reaffirm its commitment to genuine world partnership to further African development, in which the United Nations system is called on to play a central role. Such a global framework would integrate all existing initiatives, and particularly the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, to ensure greater consistency of goals and better coordination of programmes.

I have the pleasure to speak on item 22 of our agenda, and I am delighted to welcome here the interest shown by the international community for development and growth in Africa. The United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa (UN-NADAF) has come at a timely moment so as to give concrete form to the United Nations commitment to development in Africa. This programme bears witness to the commitment of Member States of the Organization to support Africa’s development efforts. The final review and appraisal of the New Agenda, 10 years after it was launched, will give us in 2002 the opportunity to review the results of the action carried out by the African countries and by the international community as a whole to foster the development of the African continent. It will allow us to appraise all the activities undertaken by the partners involved in the various fields covered by the New Agenda and to identify successes, obstacles, failures and lessons learned. Moreover, the final review and appraisal will offer the international community the opportunity to decide on the steps to be taken to implement the Millennium Declaration, to which our Heads of State and Government committed themselves, inter alia, to help the Africans in their struggle to bring about peace and sustainable development and to eradicate poverty, so as to integrate the African continent into the world economy. In this respect, I would like to welcome the establishment by the Secretary-General of the 12- member Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development, who are responsible for supervising this appraisal. We welcome the fact that this group will meet in March 2002 in order to examine the evaluation before the final draft report is presented to the Assembly on 31 May 2002. The efforts of Africa could never be crowned with success without significant support from the international community. This solidarity should be evident through offers of sufficient, reliable resources, on the one hand, and through the establishment of a favourable external climate, on the other. The magnitude of the problems and the complexity of the obstacles that the continent must overcome to build the foundations of its infrastructure and social and economic development require that we show much more resolve and devote many more resources, both at the national and international levels, to guarantee that Africa, like other parts of the world, will have economic growth and continued and sustainable development. During the last decade, many African countries have intensified the process of democratization and strengthening civil society and of the promotion of human rights and respect for the rule of law. African countries have also undertaken economic reforms to further the establishment of a solid macroeconomic foundation and create an environment that is conducive to sustainable development and reducing poverty, particularly by effective public administration. However, it should be recognized that the current efforts of developed countries and the United Nations system are far from adequate to meet the problems faced by Africa. This is true of official development assistance and investment, as well as of the response to indebtedness. In spite of the efforts of African countries to make better use of it, official development assistance continues to shrink. While we are very grateful to those countries that have fulfilled their commitment to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product to official development assistance, we call on those developed countries that have not fulfilled their commitment to shoulder their responsibilities in that respect, so that the majority of African countries can achieve stronger growth. Africa’s marginalization in respect of foreign direct investment is comparable to its marginalization in terms of trade. Despite the considerable efforts made by many African countries to reform their trade policies, Africa’s share of the world market — less than 2 per cent — is very small. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, of the 48 sub-Saharan African countries, 39 depend on just two primary commodities, of either agricultural or mineral origin, for more than 50 per cent of their export earnings. This is a matter of particular concern, and it is the duty of the international community to assist African countries in establishing the kind of material, institutional and organizational capabilities that they need to underpin their efforts to promote trade and improve access to markets, and to further reduce the customs tariffs and eliminate non-tariff barriers that African commodities face. Indebtedness remains one of the main obstacles to economic revival and sustainable growth in Africa. The international community should continue to cooperate to decrease the burden that weighs heavily on the debt- ridden African countries. We call upon the creditor countries, private banks and multilateral financial institutions to help the African countries to free themselves of debt, more rapidly and durably, particularly by applying, on an accelerated basis, the expanded and strengthened Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative. Furthermore, countries emerging from conflict situations have particular needs and deserve special treatment, and we must be flexible in our approach to them and generous in the way we treat their debt arrears. Information and communication technology is playing an increasingly important role as a catalyst for economic and social development in African countries. African countries are called on to develop their information and communication technology as an integral part of their national and regional development. Africa’s international partners, for their part, are expected to treat the issue of information and communication technology as a priority issue for Africa’s development. When launching the New African Initiative — recently renamed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development — the aim of the African leaders was to reaffirm their collective will to promote the African continent in the framework of an integrated action plan based on a global approach to the elements for sustainable development, underpinned by Africa’s own capabilities. In this context, we welcome the fact that that initiative has enjoyed the support and encouragement of the international community, particularly the G-8, the European Union countries, the international financial institutions, the United Nations Secretary-General and the Economic and Social Council. We are convinced that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development will provide the right kind of framework for Africa’s development, and we would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the international community to take whatever measures are necessary so as to respond in an effective and concerted manner to this significant initiative as a new mechanism to succeed the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. We must all work to make it a success.

I would like to express my gratitude and pleasure at addressing this Assembly on the important item on our agenda entitled “Final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s”. For the past two decades, the development of Africa has preoccupied this Assembly in its work — from the special session in 1986, which adopted the United Nations Programme of Action for African Recovery and Development (UNPAERD), to the New Agenda (UN-NADAF) today. The circumstances which led to the adoption of UNPAERD and UN-NADAF are as valid today as they were in 1986 and 1991. Africa has a potential for growth and development. That is why it has embarked on an ambitious reform process aimed at harnessing that potential, in the full recognition that its development is, in the final analysis, its own responsibility. In this regard, the continent has seized the challenge, and African countries have committed themselves to implementing policies and programmes to create an environment conducive to growth and development. This has enabled Africa to halt a deteriorating trend, and in many cases to register modest growth. Success would have been substantial but for the enormous problems Africa faces. Poor infrastructure, HIV/AIDS and poor terms of trade are just a few of the constraints. Nevertheless, a supportive international environment in terms of increased financial resources and other mechanisms will help to sustain the changes that are being implemented. Increased resources are critical if the process of reform and restructuring is to be sustained. I need hardly stress that, given the interdependence of the world economy, the whole of mankind stands to benefit from progress in Africa. This was duly recognized in UN-NADAF. At the Organization of African Unity summit held in Lusaka in July this year, African leaders, driven by a new political will, adopted a new partnership for African development strategy as the cornerstone of the African renaissance. The strategy, which is owned by Africans themselves, has earmarked priority sectors which Africans will address so as to rid the continent of the poverty trap and place their countries on the path towards sustained growth and sustainable development. These sectors include infrastructure, information and communication technology, human resource development, agriculture and the diversification of production and exports. My delegation believes that for Africa’s development efforts to be meaningful, there is a need for the international community to forge a new partnership with Africa to address, in a comprehensive manner, the problems facing the continent and to find lasting solutions. In this regard, there is an urgent need to review the determination and the commitment to implement the United Nations New Agenda, in line with the New African Initiative, so that the two complement each other. To this end, the decision by the General Assembly to conduct the final review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda in the year 2002 is a timely one. We believe that this occasion will give all parties to the UN-NADAF process the opportunity to reflect on the successes and failures they encountered while implementing this programme and to chart out a new course. Ten years of implementation of UN-NADAF has demonstrated that the gap between Africa and the developed countries has continued to widen. This is manifested in increasing levels of poverty, declining terms of trade, declining levels of official development assistance, lack of progress in the transfer of technology, and, above all, a high level of external debt. One could also say that this trend is the result of downgrading the issue of development from its priority place on the international agenda. In this context, therefore, it is not farfetched to believe that Africa’s efforts to develop will be successful only if complemented by a conducive international environment. The burden of external debt has a negative impact on the majority of developing countries. Radical measures on debt reduction will enable funds to be freed up and made available for other productive activities, including the provision of social services. Concerning external trade, commodity trade has remained the major source of earnings in all African countries. However, the continued instability of prices in commodity markets denies Africa much of the required export earnings. Meanwhile, the higher prices of industrial goods have made it difficult for Africa to modernize its productive system, hence the continent’s exports and share of trade have remained very low. It is imperative, therefore, that measures be taken to increase the participation of African countries in global trade to avoid further marginalization. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a positive step in that direction. The rate of return on investment in Africa is very high — about 30 per cent. Despite this profitability, foreign direct investment flows into the continent have been relatively insignificant. Of all of the foreign direct investment directed to the developing countries, Africa’s share stands at less than 2 per cent, with a bigger share going mostly to Asia and Latin America. Africa lacks the resources needed to undertake all the necessary construction and build the infrastructure which can attract and support sustained flows of foreign direct investment. Even in the rare cases in which such infrastructure has been instituted, foreign direct investment has not been forthcoming at a rate and a level that could have a positive impact and enable Africa to make an economic turnaround. In this regard, Africa needs the concerted action of all. We therefore hope that it will be possible for Africa’s development partners, in supporting UN- NADAF, to increase their assistance to Africa. In conclusion, my delegation supports fully the proposal to establish an Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole to carry out the final review and appraisal of UN-NADAF. We also support the proposal for the Ad Hoc Committee to meet in September 2002 for two days prior to the review meeting. We urge all interested parties to start early preparations and send high-level representation to the review meeting so as to make it a success.

Allow me at the outset to express our appreciation for the report of the Secretary-General on the final review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda for the development of Africa (UN-NADAF). In this regard, I should like to reiterate that the success of any initiative for development is based on two major factors, namely political will on the part of the States concerned and the availability of the necessary financial resources to operationalize the ideas and proposals contained in the initiative. These two factors have been lacking in most of the initiatives on Africa, particularly the resource factor. This has been a primary reason for the failure of these initiatives to achieve their objectives, despite all of the positive wording and the good intentions that accompanied those initiatives when they were launched. There have been some successes and some failures in the course of the implementation of UN- NADAF. Nevertheless, my delegation’s statement today will concentrate on recent developments in Africa after the initiative of the New Agenda. African leaders, at the recent Lusaka summit, adopted an integrated and comprehensive initiative on development in Africa, the New African Initiative, now known as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. That initiative enjoyed unprecedented unanimity among all the people of the continent. It provides a comprehensive and integrated vision and framework for efforts towards African development in the continent as a whole. It recognizes the commitments and obligations of the African peoples themselves, which are considerable. We hope that these commitments and efforts will be matched by a clear international commitment by Africa’s partners in order to build on the national efforts and to bridge the existing financial gap. This will enable the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the continent to be realized in advancing development and progress on the basis of respect for democracy, human rights, good governance and the establishment of peace and stability. This was agreed upon by the peoples of the continent themselves in order to harness these concepts to serve development efforts and to achieve the participation of all the peoples of the continent in such efforts. Egypt participated effectively with the other countries of the continent in the formulation of the concept of the New Partnerships for Africa’s Development. This reflects Egypt’s belief that we must formulate a growth strategy that enjoys the unanimous agreement of the peoples of the continent. Egypt hopes that their future and that of succeeding generations will be determined through their free will, in the framework of a clear awareness and understanding of national, regional and international developments and of the spirit of the times at the beginning of this third millennium. We hope that, in the implementation of this comprehensive framework, the political will of the peoples of the continent to advance development efforts throughout the continent will be matched by that of the international community. We also hope that this will be translated into the making available of additional external resources by the international community in order to bridge the existing financial gaps on the national and regional levels for achieving the desired development in Africa. In this regard, we recall that Africa enjoys a special status. It is the litmus test for international efforts in the implementation of the objectives of the Millennium Declaration, in particular that of halving worldwide abject poverty by 2015. We hope that this will be taken into account during the preparations for the International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Mexico next March, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Johannesburg next September. In conclusion, we would like to point out that, regardless of the outcome of the review and appraisal of UN-NADAF, we look forward to a swift transitional stage, during which all the shortcomings that marred the implementation of that initiative will be avoided and during which efforts will be made to build upon the positive aspects to operationalize and spread the New Partnership for Africa’s Development initiative, expressing the new spirit in Africa, with a view to supporting development efforts and progress, as chosen by the peoples of the African continent themselves.

I should like to inform Members that a draft resolution under this agenda item will be submitted at a later date. The meeting rose at 6 p.m.